I recently had a discussion with one of the hiring managers at my office, discussing an informational interview she'd had with a young fellow graduating from college. Good experience was all over his resume, plenty of jobs, references and the candidate played on a Div. 1 football squad. He was second team on defense, but he had an agent encouraging him to go pro. He had a good shot at making the NFL, either on a practice squad somewhere or possibly special teams, both offering the chance of better things.
He was a good student, too. As a result, he opted out of the NFL, and decided the working life was a better career choice. He was a bit tired of the culture of football. He loved it, but it's grinding work. He wanted to use other skills he'd developed. I don't blame him.
As the hiring manager and I spoke, she commented "Well, he has the added benefit of being diverse."
I looked at her and said, "What do you mean, exactly?"
"I think you know what I mean, he's ethnic."
"So he's black. You're telling me this makes him more qualified?"
"No, not more qualified, but you know how things are today. We have to remain conscious of this fact, diversity is so important in the workplace."
"Yes, I agree, it is important. But having me as part of the team doesn't make us more diverse? I'm curious if I'm diverse?"
"Well, you're diverse in terms of thought. You think in ways nobody else here does, but that's not what we focus on in diversity."
"So I'm not diverse?"
"Technically, no. A white male is not diverse, sorry, that's just reality."
"I'm over 50. Does that matter?"
"Sometimes. But not really. That really just means you're more expensive."
Sure, I know this is how things are. Of course I've lived this before, and of course I'm familiar with how "things are today". However, this is a conversation which rarely takes place in the real world. It takes place in the heads of people doing hiring, in the minds of the HR Department at most major firms, or in closed door sessions of executives crafting strategic hiring initiatives to make their company look 'socially aware'.
I was stunned to actually have this conversation. I suppose things being what they are, we're getting past the point of pretending that we're not forced to hire for irrational and not necessarily beneficial reasons like race. I guess we're reaching a point where we are open to admitting that we are forced to hire because of race, either because of
laws or corporate policies (which, by the way, are usually designed to make sure they don't run afoul of some law, somewhere).
I'd have hired this guy regardless of his "diversity". He showed great potential, and there was no reason to even bring up his "diversity". But in having that discussion, it's just a reminder that, as a white male over 50, I still have so much going for me that the market has to be rigged to work against me.
It's worth noting that I pointed out to this same person, in a separate conversation, that if white men had so much going for them, why have I been unemployed 4 times over the last 20 years, and why hasn't the 'White Men's Club' stepped up each time to help me out, if we all stick together? In reality, I owe 2 of my jobs to a woman who used to work for me, and realizes what I bring to the table. She's been my champion in two separate organizations, the last one we radically transformed from having declining revenues and value into one with rising revenue streams which was sold 7 years later for billions of dollars.
I walk and talk the 'diversity' line. You can't survive today if you fight it. It's worth noting diversity, conceptually, is a very good thing. It should be a concept engaged at every point in a process. We, as individuals, are always better with open minds about things like race, gender, ideas, and best practices. But the whole concept of what it means to be diverse has become utter garbage, with so many ill-informed people buying into a mindset that we must hire for reasons other than those which are strictly business related. Then they wonder why the competitive nature of US companies is in decline.
